US flight attendants want to ban the use of gadgets during takeoff and landing again

Although pretty much every member of the public was happy to hear that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has finally permitted the use of electronic devices during all flight times, flight attendants are not too happy about the decision. In fact, the biggest union with 60,000 members wants to prohibit their use during takeoff and landing once more citing safety concerns as the main reason.

As attorney and union rep Amanda Duré says, a considerable amount of people have stopped paying attention to the safety demonstrations as they are too focused on their gadgets. Furthermore, there has already been at least one incident where turbulence caused a device to fly off so passengers are now more at risk of an accident.

As the opposing lawyer says though, items flying off during turbulence are not limited to electronic devices and things like book pose just as much risk yet no one seeks a ban on them. And if I may add, I very much doubt that the reason people do not pay attention to the safety demonstrations is because they use their devices. One would think that a thing like this would not be the flight attendant’s concern but I digress. As Engadget points out, the FAA’s decision simply allows airline companies to enact this policy, meaning that overruling the decision in the Court of Appeals is very much a long shot.